Participants in the Daegu Queer Culture Festival stage a street parade in downtown Daegu on Oct 1, 2022. (Yonhap)
DAEGU, June 15 (Korea Bizwire) — A court has rejected an injunction request by merchant and church groups to ban an annual LGBTQ festival in Daegu, clearing the way for the event to take place in the heart of the southeastern city this weekend, judicial officials said Thursday.
The Daegu District Court dismissed the injunction request filed by an association of merchants in Dongseongno, a popular shopping district, and the Christian Council of Daegu (CCD) against the Rainbow Human Rights Regiment, which plans to host the Daegu Queer Culture Festival on streets around Dongseongno on Saturday.
The Daegu festival for the LGBTQ community and its supporters has been held every year since 2009 in the city’s central district.
There has been persistent conflict surrounding the queer event, escalating to a legal dispute ahead of this year’s event.
The plaintiffs said the queer event and its occupation of streets may restrict the merchants’ freedom of business, demanding a ban on an event stage within a 100-meter radius of the Dongseongno shopping district and sales of goods.
But the court sided with the festival host, saying the business risks cited by the plaintiffs are ambiguous and the freedom of expression is as important as the freedom of business.
It also raised questions over the qualification of the CCD as a plaintiff.
(Yonhap)
